The present invention relates to checkstands, and, more specifically, to store checkstands.
A checkstand is a station at which a customer or clerk in a store, such as a grocery store, unloads the items the customer intends to purchase, e.g., groceries, a register clerk scans or enters the prices of the items, the customer pays for the items, the items are bagged, and the bagged groceries are placed in a cart or handed to the customer. In some stores, a separate clerk bags the items and places the bags into a cart. A number of checkstands are usually lined along the exit of a store so that multiple customers may purchase items at the same time on the way out of the store.
One design of a checkstand includes a front module upon which the customer unloads groceries or other items. A scanner and register are located at the trailing end of the front module. The front module usually includes a conveyor, called an xe2x80x9caccumulation conveyor,xe2x80x9d onto which a register clerk or a customer unloads items for purchase. The accumulation conveyor conveys the groceries toward the scanner and the cash register. A register clerk lifts each of the items from the accumulation conveyor and either scans the item across the scanner, or manually enters the price and stock number information in the cash register.
Some checkstands include a second conveyor, called a xe2x80x9ctake-away conveyor,xe2x80x9d that extends from the scanner and/or register to a rear portion of the checkstand. A register clerk deposits scanned items on the front end of the takeaway conveyor, and the take-away conveyor deposits the scanned items at the trailing end of the rear module, where a bagging clerk places each of the scanned items into bags.
For some checkstands, the accumulation conveyor and the take-away conveyor are constructed in a similar manner. In one typical construction of these conveyors, the length of a conveyor is determined, and two steel rails are machined to the length of the conveyor. The steel rails are elongate angle-iron structures (i.e., have a cross-section of an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d), and include fastener and attachment holes at their ends. A board, called a xe2x80x9cdeck,xe2x80x9d extends between the two rails and supports the belt for the conveyor. The back of one side of the rail abuts against the deck, and a plastic sleeve is attached to the rail that is configured to extend under the deck. The opposite side of the rail extends outward from the deck, and is aligned so that it fits on a top surface of the checkstand.
The fastener holes and attachment holes on the rails are arranged and configured for attachment of rollers for the belt for the conveyor. For example, a powered roller may be attached to one end of the steel rails, and an idler roller may be attached to the other end. The two rollers are fixed to the ends of the steel rails, and the belt is looped between the two rollers. The steel rails provide a rigid structure for supporting the belt and for maintaining the proper alignment of the rollers.
Although the steel rails used in prior art checkstand conveyors work well for their intended purpose, there are problems with their use and manufacture. The rails must be machined to exact lengths, and the fastener and other attachment holes must be machined in their appropriate locations. Because the checkstands are not all the same length, checkstand manufacturers must have sophisticated metalworking equipment, or must be heavily reliant upon a metal shop for production of conveyors having different lengths.
The present invention is directed to a modular conveyor that may be used, for example, as a take-away conveyor or an accumulation conveyor in a checkstand. The modular conveyor includes front and rear brackets that are configured for attachment of rollers for the conveyor belt. The front and rear brackets are designed so that they may be attached to a deck, such as a wooden board. The belt is attached on the rollers, and wraps around the deck. The length of the deck, or wooden board, may be varied, permitting same-shaped brackets to be used to form variable lengths of conveyors. By simply changing the length of the deck, shorter or longer conveyors may be produced using the same brackets.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, two brackets are used for each end of the conveyor, one each for supporting opposite sides of the roller at that end of the conveyor. In this manner, the deck may be widened or narrowed, so that the same brackets may be used to create conveyors of various widths. Changing the width of the deck permits conveyors to be produced having a wider belt and rollers.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the deck is made of wood, and thus it may easily be cut to desired lengths or widths. Thus, a manufacturer may stock only a limited number of brackets (front left, front right, rear left, rear right) and may produce multiple different lengths and widths of conveyors. Two or more of the brackets (e.g., front right and rear left) may be interchangeable, permitting even fewer types of brackets to be stocked by a manufacturer.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the brackets at one or both ends of the conveyor may be formed to hold more than one roller. This feature permits, for example, a powered roller to be mounted under an idler roller, which may work well for mounting a conveyor in a tight space, for example.
Other advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: